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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fall — to drop
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. swing — in golf
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. press — a publisher
  12. fall — to drop
  13. press — to push
  14. rest — what's left
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. row — a line
  19. bass — low music
  20. rest — a break
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. fall — the season
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wax — to grow

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com